Part of Us
by LolaBlackx
Summary: Kate finds out she's pregnant with triplets. how will she react? how will Castle react? MOSTLY humor and romance but it gets a bit angsty for a few chapters.
1. Chapter 1

She looked beautiful laying on his bed. Their bed. Castle had woken up early to make her breakfast. She had gotten home late and he knew she would be hurrying to go back to the precinct as soon as she got up. He made her eggs and bacon and coffee with a heart shaped design on it.

He looked at her for a while and admired how beautiful she looked sleeping. So peaceful. He didn't want to disturb her sleep but it was getting late.

He placed the tray on the nightstand and sat at the edge of the bed and ran his hands up and down her thigh at an attempt to wake her.

Kate slowly opened her eyes and upon seeing Castle a huge smile spread across her face.

"_Hey sleeping beauty."_

"_Hey."_ She sat up and placed a chaste kiss to his lips. "_Is that bacon I smell?"_

"_Why, yes it is Miss Beckett. Would you like some?"_

"_Yes please, I'm starving."_ Beckett positioned herself against the headboard and placed the tray on her lap. _"Thank you, you're an angel, you know that?"_ She kissed his palm and took a moment to drink some of her coffee.

"_I haven't grown my wings yet but I hear those come later on." _He placed a kiss to her forehead. "_Now, eat because you will most certainly be late." _

Kate put the coffee down and grabbed her fork to take a piece of the bacon into her mouth. She suddenly stopped. What was that awful smell? _"Castle, why does it smell so awful?"_ She realized it wasn't the bacon but the eggs. The smell was overpowering all her senses and she suddenly felt like throwing up.

"_What? Kate, I'm basically a chef. Plus I tasted it before I gave it to you. It's delicious and smell amazing if I must say so myself."_ Rick took a piece of bacon into his mouth_. "Yup, delicious_."

"_The eggs smell like throw up, Rick. Eww. Oh! Speaking of throw up!"_ Kate put the tray down on the mattress and ran to the bathroom locking the door behind her.

Rick knocked on the door repeatedly. _"Kate, honey, what's wrong. They do taste delicious and they smell great. Are you sick or something?"_ All he heard was Kate throwing up her insides. "_Kate, open the door. Let me hold your hair or something."_

He heard a click at the knob and he opened the door. He saw the shocked look on Kate's face. "_What? What is it? Kate, what's wrong?"_

"_Rick, what's todays' date?" _

"_April 29__th__. Why?"_

"_Oh. My God. Oh my God. Rick what did you do?"_

"_What? I'm not following."_

"_I'm late by like 4 weeks! 4 weeks Rick! How did I just realize this? I was getting nauseous at work and I simply attributed it to the lack of sleep and poor nutrition choices but Rick…." _

"_Late for what? Kate just calm down and slow down." _

"_I can't believe this. Oh my God. This can't be happening. I can't believe you did this to me."_ She planted soft punched to his chest. _"When did we get so carried away that we forgot to protect ourselves?"_

Rick had never been so confused in his life. What was this woman talking about and hitting him for?

"_Kate, what exactly did I do to you?" _

"_What did you do? You knocked me up Richard Castle! That's what you did."_

AN: continue? Yes? No? Maybe? Please leave a review.


	2. Chapter 2

Rick laughed at her choice of words. _"Knocked up, Kate? Really? Out of all the options. 'I'm pregnant! Or 'I'm with child', you choose knocked up"_? He kept laughing. This whole situation was very amusing to him.

"_Why the hell are you laughing? This is serious! We're going to have a baby Rick. An actual breathing living little person."_ She was so flustered. Her mind was running so fast that she didn't really register what she was saying.

"_Okay, I'm sorry. But Kate, since when did you become a Doctor? Did you even bother to pee in that little stick?" _

She suddenly stopped. This is all true. Irregularity happened to women all the time. This doesn't have to mean that she's pregnant. _"So what do we do now?"_

"_Well, I was thinking since you're already late for work, we could spend the rest of our morning doing that beautiful glorious deed that causes the baby making to begin with." _He grabbed her waist and passionately kissed her neck and nibbled her right ear.

"_Castle, stop it. You are not getting any of this until I pee on a dozen sticks. I'm going to go see Lanie at lunch and get this figured out."_ She shoved him off and took off her clothes and headed to take a shower.

"_Oh, shove me away and then proceed to taking your clothes off in front of me. You cruel, cruel woman. No worries. You'll come back begging for all of this. But I warn you Kate, I don't know when I will be in the mood again."_ He teased.

"_Oh puh-lease Castle! You're always in the mood. All I have to do is enter the room."_ She yelled from the bathroom.

"_Okay fine! You got me. So can I help you out in there? You haven't eaten yet so you must be weak and in need of a shower buddy_. _You know, to help you reach all the hard-to-reach places."_ When he didn't hear a response from Kate, he got worried. _"Kate?"_

"_Are you coming Castle?"_

|Break|

During her lunch break Kate had gone to the morgue to find Lanie. She told Lanie her symptoms and Lanie reacted the same way Castle did.

"_Kate, I bought you six of these magic sticks. Go pee on them & then we'll talk. Stop freaking out before you know the results."_ fifteen minutes later Kate walked out the bathroom carrying 6 sticks in her hand. Lanie looked at her expectantly.

"_So? positive? Negative?" _

"_Um all six of them were…positive Lanie. Every single one of them. I'm pregnant." _

"_Oh my God! This is huge! Congratulations girl! You're going to be a mommy!"_ Lanie noticed Kate's tears immediately.

"_Kate, honey, what's wrong?"_

"_Lanie I'm pregnant. Pregnant. There's a human growing inside of me. What if…what if I let this baby down? What if I don't know what to do? Lanie…it's a baby._" She was so emotional and the tears were falling so quickly.

"_aww honey, you're forgetting one thing. You're not in it alone. You've got Castle. He loves you and you know he's a great father. Look at Alexis. He'll hold your hands through this Kate. Not to mention me and Javi and Ryan. I'm more than happy to babysit. You got this girl."_ She hugged her best friend because at this, point that's all she needed.

"_You think I'll be okay? I mean, I won't screw up?" _

"_I'm sure of it. Girl, don't worry. You'll be fine."_

|Break|

Kate entered the loft and dropped her jacket and purse on top of the couch. She headed towards the bedroom where she sees Castle sitting down on the armchair, reading a book. She quietly enters.

"_Hey." _

"_Hey!"_ A huge smiles spreads across his face as he tugs her to his lap. He kisses her very slowly and tenderly. "_So, how did it go with Lanie?"_ He looked hopefully.

"_Um, it went… I don't know Castle. I mean, we've never talked about a baby before and I don't know where you stand and I'm not where I want to be in my life. So, honestly I don't know how it went." _

"_Kate, are you telling me that you're pregnant?"_ He looked up at her with a huge spark in his eyes.

"_Yes, Rick. I'm pregnant. We're going to have a baby."_

She had never heard him shriek louder. He picked her up and spun her around the room. He finally put her down and then started kissing her all over. Her forehead. Her nose. Her ears. Her cheeks. Her Stomach and finally her lips. "_You're going to give me a baby. Our baby. Oh Kate it's going to be perfect. With your hair and your smile and my eyes and sense of humor because you know I'm damn funny. This is one of the greatest days of my life! Kate, thank you so much for giving me this gift. If it was possible to love you more, I would." _His smile was the biggest she had ever seen. So big that she couldn't help but smile.

"_Oh Castle, I'm so glad you're on board. I was so worried about your reaction and here you are the happiest man alive."_ She hugged him tight, nesting her face in his tee shirt.

"_Of course I'm on board Kate. Now. Tomorrow. Ten years from now. Always."_

That was all she needed to hear. "_Always. We're in this together. I love you Rick. I love you so much."_

"_I adore you Katherine Beckett with every fiber in my being."_ He gently kissed her lips. "_Now let's go to the baby making machine and maybe we'll get lucky and make another baby. That happens right? Where you have two babies in different eggs or something?"_

"_Really now Castle? This is not the time for biology talk. How about you focus on landing your ship tonight and then we'll talk about whatever you want._" Kate removed his tee shirt to expose his chest. _"Oh you always smell so good."_ She let out a soft moan.

"_Are you sure my smell doesn't make you noxious?"_ He joked. She ran her the tip of her tongue along his neck and made her ways to his ear. _"You think this is the reaction of noxious woman?"_

He let his head fall back to let her do wicked things with her tongue on his neck and chest. _"No, not noxious indeed. You're fully recuperated." _He removed her tee shirt and pants. Leaving her standing there with only her lacey underwear and bra. _"Oh, Kate. You'll be the death of me and I could care less_."

"_Oh yeah? She removed his pants as well and placed a hot, steamy kiss to his lips. She ran her hands through his hair and played with her tongue until she found entrance to his mouth._ Rick couldn't hold his balance and fell onto the bed. _"Oh that's perfect. Exactly where I wanted you."_ Kate practically jumped on top of him, effectively straddling him. _"Get ready for the ride of your life Ricky boy."_

AN: Use your imagination for the rest. ;) Thoughts? You can leave suggestions and please correct my mistakes. That would be really helpful. Thank you for reading. Continue?


	3. Chapter 3

AN: I'm reading your reviews. Thank you so much for writing them. They definitely make me write faster. ;) One of them said not to make Kate mushy and another said not to make Castle the bad guy. I get where you're coming from, but Kate is very mushy this season if you haven't noticed, so I hope my writing is not completely out of character. When it comes to Rick, I didn't think I was making him the bad guy. He was just being Rick and making sure Kate didn't freak out for no reason without knowing for sure of she was pregnant. But no worries, keep letting me know what you think and I'll take them in count. P.S I've never had an ultrasound or so I have no idea how accurate this is, so just pretend It's spot on. Lol AGAIN, a huge thank you to those who reviewed and read this story. xo

Castle parked his car in the Hospital parking lot. He rushed to the passenger's side and opened the door for Kate.

"_Oh so now that I'm carrying your baby, you're being chivalrous?_" she joked, because Castle had always been a gentleman.

"_Do you want me to carry you to the elevator, bridal style?"_ He said grinning.

"_Do you want me to shoot you?_" She said it with her everyday Beckett sass and Castle loved her for it. He moved closer to put his arms around her waist as they walked inside.

Once they got registered, the nurse directed them to the consultation room.

"_The Doctor will be in shortly. If you need anything, let me know."_ She exited the room.

Richard was now pacing up and down that tiny room and Kate was about one second away from kicking his ass.

"_Castle, if you don't stay still I might actually have to shoot you. You're making me nervous. It's just an appointment." _She jumped off the hospital bed and took his hands.

"_I know, but I'm nervous."_ He squeezed her hand.

"_I know. Me too. But you'll see. Everything is going to be fine."_ She rested her head on his chest and ran her hands up and down his back, soothingly.

Doctor Khumbchandani, walked in and noticed their sweet embrace. "Ahem."

Kate immediately pulled away. _"Sorry. You know, Just calming our nerves."_

The Indian woman walked past Kate towards the ultrasound machine. _"No worries. It's sweet to see that you guys have this support system." _

Now it was Castle's turn to speak and he was not wasting time with small talk. _"So we came in today to make sure that she is really pregnant because you know, you never know with those home tests. But I'm sure she's pregnant, I mean look at her glow. But, really we want to be absolutely positive before we tell anybody else of course, assuming that Lanie hasn't told the boys and Alexis yet…." _

Kate cut him off. _"Rick, you're rambling. Let's just see what the Doctor's say and then we'll deal with your family and the precinct."_ Castle shook his head in to indicate that he understood. _I'm sorry, I'm really nervous and excited. It's not like it's my first child, but it is our first child and I can barely contain my thoughts. I'm sorry, go ahead, carry on."_

The Doctor was now smiling to herself. _"No worries, totally understandable. I'm happy to see this level of excitement from the father, especially. You wouldn't believe how many women have to do this alone."_

Kate smiled to herself because she knew she was lucky. Castle was going to be with her throughout this journey. No doubts, no ifs. He was going to be there.

"_Miss Beckett please lay down." _She looked over to Castle. _"You can sit by the edge of the bed if you wish_."

Castle did as he was told and held Kate's hand. He looked like a kid in a candy store. The glee in his eyes. The smile.

Doctor Khumbchandani lifted Kate's shirt up and placed a cold jelly to her stomach. They were all looking at the monitor now. Kate was expecting to see a baby but all she saw was a black screen with some grey areas around it. The Doctor was studying the screen now. "_Oh there it is. The tiny dot over here. That's your baby." _

Relieved flowed over Kate. She looked at the screen and back at Castle. "_That's our baby, Castle. We made that." _

Castle was now crying. Not subtle crying, but real crying. "_That's our baby"_ he choked out and moved towards Kate to kiss her lips. "_Our baby." _

The Doctor suddenly bore this look of surprise. "_Oh."_

"_What? What do you mean 'oh'? What's the matter? The baby is fine right?"_

Now it was Castle's turn to calm her down. _"Kate, calm down. It's going to be fine."_

"_Doctor, what do you mean "oh"? That's never a good thing when it comes from a Doctor's mouth._

The Doctor now looked at them smiling. _"Well, in your case it's a great thing. You're having babies. Three to be exact. You're pretty far along. Six weeks pregnant." _

"_Babies? As in more than one?"_ Kate had heard the Doctor loud and clear but her mind was still trying to process being pregnant and now being pregnant with three babies. Three.

Castle's brain has caught up now. "_Yes Kate three babies! This is the best day."_ He squeezed her hand even tighter.

The Doctor continued her examination. "_At this point, your babies' brain, heart and spinal cord have begun to form and arm and leg bugs have begun to appear. You can't really see them here but that's what's happening now." _

Kate was astonished. "_But how was I pregnant for six weeks and not notice, especially if I have triplets?"_

"_Well, for one thing you're very slender. You haven't gained much weight yet because you haven't started your pre-natal vitamins, which you will start right away. And secondly you probably didn't expect to get pregnant so even if you had symptoms, you probably brushed them off." _The Doctor smiled down at her.

"_Oh."_ That was all she could muster. She started to remember all the times she ran to the bathroom to throw up or the excessive amount of peeing she had been doing. It all made sense now.

"_You're all set for today. We will schedule regular appointments to check on your babies and in about 2 months or so you will find out the sexes. Great meeting you guys. Have a great day and take it easy Miss Beckett." _

Castle shook her hand. "_Thank you so much."_ The Doctor left and Kate finally sat up.

"_Three babies."_

"_Three babies."_ He repeated. He watched as she stood up and grabbed her coat.

"_But hey. It's going to be great. Challenging but great. We've got so many people who can help us. Your family, my friends…my dad. It will be fine._" She mostly said this to reassure herself. She was thrilled she was having a baby. Castle's baby. But three babies made her have a mini panic attack. "_We'll be fine_." She said while taking his hand and leading them out of the room.

Castle squeezed her hands tight. _"Yes, we'll be fine."_ They walked out hand in hand with a huge smile on their faces because it had finally hit them that they were going to be parents of three beautiful children.

AN: Squeee! Three babies, which means I'm open to baby name suggestions and what the sexes of the babies should be. 2 boys, one girl? 2 girls, one boy? Three boys? 3 girls? Let me know what you're thinking. Xo thanks for reading


	4. Chapter 4

AN: I get so happy when I get alert notification or review notifications. Thank you so much. I wasn't going to update so soon because I had a 15page research paper due, but you guys made me happy so yeah. Anyway. Enjoy. More Caskett cuteness in the next chapter. Thank you for the suggestions. Xo

Richard had invited everybody over for dinner that night, even Captain Gates. He figured He would tell them all together. He was sure everybody would be thrilled but he was a little bit worried about Gates and Alexis' reactions. Sure, Gates knew they were together but how would she feel about having a pregnant detective? And Alexis has been an only-child for nearly two decades. He hoped she didn't feel displaced. He had prepared the food with Kate the entire afternoon. They had made a little dance while cooking. Sneaking a few kisses here and there. Making each other constantly taste the food. If anybody saw them now, they would think they had been married forever.

Kate was putting the final plate setting on the table when she heard the doorbell. She walked over to the door and Lanie immersed her in a huge hug. Lanie whispered, _"How are you doing? Feeling better?"_ Kate gave her a knowing look and replied _"I'm doing great Lanie_." She let her best friend go and proceeded to saying hello to the rest of their guests.

Richard said hello and showed everybody to the table. They were only waiting for Alexis who was running a little late because of a scheduling conflict. Richard refused to start diner without Alexis, proclaiming that the news they had to share was so grand that everybody who meant anything to them had to be there, together. They waited for about 15 minutes before Alexis burst through the door, mouthing apologies left and right and rambling about how she tried to make it but couldn't on time.

"_It's okay pumpkin. We're just glad you're here."_ Richard gave her a huge smile and motioned for her to take a seat next to Martha. Once Alexis had settled down everybody looked at the couple's way expectantly. Martha was the first to speak. "_So Kiddo's, what is this grand news that we all had to be together for?"_ Kate looked at Rick and back at Martha.

"_Well, you guys are well aware that Rick and I have been dating for nearly a year now…"_ She looked at Gate's direction to examine her face.

"_No worries Kate, I've known for a while."_ She laughed a little. _"But you guys should've seen them trying to hide it all in the precinct. Hmm. I'm no fool Detective." _She took a drink of her water.

Everybody was laughing now. _"I knew they would end up together since the first day they met. It was so frustrating to see them dying to be with each other and then act all stupid and not get together I nearly smacked them both."_ Lanie said laughing.

"_You were frustrated? How about Javi and I? They were with us all the time. Practically devouring each other with their eyes and we had to stand there and not say anything. I really thought they would never tell each other. I'm glad you guys did though. Mommy and daddy are finally together."_ Everybody was giving Kate and Rick an, everybody-knew-you-secretly-wanted-each-other look.

"_Alright fine, you all knew. We were obvious. We get it_." Rick shot them a friendly cold stare. "_Now can we go back to announcing our news?"_

"_Of course. We're sorry. But really Castle, even now you guys are very obvious."_ Javi said.

Kate looked at Javi who had said something for the first time except for laughing. _"What do you mean?"_

"_Your news. I bet we all know what you are going to tell us. I'm betting on marriage."_

"_Same here. It has to be. I mean, what else could it possibly be? Oh wait! Maybe you're finally moving in together. Ah man, now I don't know."_ Ryan looked at them expecting them to clear his doubts.

"_I say they're engaged and moving in together_." Said Gates.

"_I vote for engagement too. It has to be that."_

"_No. you kiddos have got it wrong. How can they get married if they don't even live with each other? I say maybe they're moving in together, in which case I would have to say 'it's about damn time'." _

Jenny was now looking at the silent but smiling Lanie and back at Kate and Rick knowingly. It was like this weird pregnant connection they had going on. Kate knew that Jenny knew.

"_Guys, how about we take a break from theory-making and actually let them tell us, so we can eat dinner because frankly, I'm very hungry. Eating for two here."_ She rubbed her stomach and picked up a piece of bread.

"_Thank you Jenny. Anyway, like we were saying…"_ He eyed every single one of them. _"Rick and I have bought you guys here today to tell you something that will change our lives obviously, but will also change some of yours. It may come as a shock because we were definitely shocked but we want you to know that we are thrilled to share the news with you guys and we hope you guys are happy for us as well." _

Everybody was quite now and looking at them. Kate motioned to Rick to continue.

"_Well, Kate and I found out this morning that we were going to have a baby!"_ The smile on his face was so immense that it brightened up the room.

"_Oh My God! Congratulations! You're going to be parents and I'm going to be an uncle! Ryan! We're going to be uncles! This is awesome man!"_ He hugged castle and Kissed Kate's cheek.

Everybody started getting up and hugging them and congratulating them.

"_Guys, wait. There's more."_

"_Don't tell me you're getting married too_? You could hear the excitement in Martha's voice

"_Well no. Not yet…"_ Rick looked ta Kate's way. She smiled back at him. _"The thing is we went to the Doctor's this morning to double check and to see if everything was okay and the Doctor told us that we were going to have THREE babies." _

Everybody was happy for them. As it turns out they were worried for no reason because Gates was thrilled for them. She did express some concerns about how often Kate would miss work because of her babies, but Castle reassured her that she wouldn't lose her best detective.

When it came to Alexis she was as thrilled as everybody. She did tell her dad that she was worried that he would get so caught up with his new family that's she may feel a little left out. Both Rick and Kate assured her that no one would ever take her place and that they both loved her dearly. Although Kate hadn't been much of a mother figure to Alexis since she was so grown already, she did love the girl. Admired her actually. Her tenacity, and her intelligence.

"_Well, in that case congratulations. I'm very happy for the both of you and when it comes time to pick baby names, I want to be included. Don't let dad name any of the kids after a character from a science fiction show or movie or a comic book."_ Kate and Alexis both laughed.

"_Don't worry. I'll call you as soon as we find out the sexes and we can sit and pick names together. Thank you Alexis, for being so understanding." _

"_No problem. I really have to go back to Campus now, it's getting late."_ She hugged them both and started walking out the door.

Everybody left about an hour after Alexis. Esposito couldn't shut up about how cute they would look if they dressed up as cops in Halloween and Ryan kept going on about how their kids were going to be best friends and rule the playground. Everybody left happy and Kate and Rick couldn't be more relieved and thrilled.

AN: So due to the popular vote you guys will find out the names and sexes soon; in a Couple of chapters maybe. I'm enjoying writing this, so I hope you're enjoying reading. Thank you so much! Reviews are love. xo


	5. Chapter 5

AN: Thank you for reading loves. Xo

Oh yes, I don't own Castle and ALL the mistakes are mine.

|2 MONTHS LATER AND 2 WEEKS LATER|

"_Castle, move! You're all over me."_ Kate shuffled in bed, trying to remove Castle's leg from her own. _"Rick! Get up!"_

Rick woke up suddenly. _"What? What is it?"_ He was very disoriented and kept looking around the room to see if something had happened.

"_Nothing. You're just all over me. I can't sleep, you need to stay on your side Rick…"_ She stopped suddenly. _"Rick, one of the babies kicked."_

"_Yeah?"_ A huge smile spread across his face. _"Let me feel!"_ he was so excited. He lifted up Kate's top to reveal her round belly. He placed a hand at the bottom of her stomach. _"Kate, I don't feel anything."_ He pouted.

Kate put her hands over his. _"Just wait for it."_ They sat there quietly for a whole minute_. "Oh right there! Did you feel it?" _

"_Yes! Make them do it again!"_ he was practically bouncing on the bed now.

"_Rick, I can't make them do it. They do it by themselves."_ She smiled at him. _"But how about we get them to sleep so I can sleep too. You don't want me to be grumpy in the morning when we go to the ultrasound right?" _

"_No, I definitely don't want a grumpy Kate tomorrow." _He pinched her nose. _"So what do I do?"_

"_You can sing them a lullaby."_ Kate got comfortable on the bed.

"_hoo yeah. Okay, you have to join in too."_ He laid down next to her and placed his head on Kate's stomach.

"_Okay. It doesn't have to be a lullaby. Any song you want as long as the lyrics are kid friendly and you whisper the entire time. Don't star humming the Star Wars theme song or anything. " _

"_Okay, okay. Um how about the circle of life? I mean, it's fitting."_

"_Ummm…I don't really know all the lyrics to that. I always pretended to sing the beginning because I still don't know what it says." Kate laughed._

"_Okay. So how about 'colors of the wind'. Everybody knows that one?"_

"_Rick, why do you know so many Disney songs?"_ She smiled at him and ran her hair through his hair.

"_Alexis and her friend Paige used to have sleep overs, which always led to karaoke nights and they always made me sing with them. I know pretty much every Disney song you can think of. So are you okay with Pocahontas?"_

"_Yes. But let's start with the chorus, because that's my favorite part. I'll go first."_

Kate placed one hand on her stomach and the other on Rick's head that was still resting on her stomach. Kate began singing softly. "_Have you ever heard the wolf cry to the blue corn moon? Or asked the grinning bobcat why he grinned?Can you sing with all the voices of the mountains? Can you paint with all the colors of the wind?_  
_Can you paint with all the colors of the wind? _" She pinched Rick's ear to let him know it was his turn.

He cleared his throat. _"Come run the hidden pine trails of the forest__. __Come taste the sun sweet berries of the Earth__. __Come roll in all the riches all around you__ a__nd for once, never wonder what they're worth…" _

They kept at it for nearly an hour, singing lullabies and other Disney classics. They finally fell asleep in each other's arms.

|Break|

Kate was once again in the hospital room waiting for Doctor Khumbchandani. Rick was sitting next to her, playing with her hair.

"_So have you thought of baby names?"_ Kate asked.

"_Well I have a lot of suggestions for boys. Like, James, Joseph, Alexander or even David. For Girls I really like Abigail, Isabella, or Emma."_ He was smiling like a fool now. _"Those are all my sensible name options. Now if you want my 'creative' choices…."_

"_No thank you. I like those. I was thinking whatever the name we pick, if we have girls, we give her Johanna as her middle name and I really like Ella for a girl."_

"_Oh Ella! I like that too. Okay, since there's three of them, I name one, you name one and since you promised Alexis, she gets to name the third. This way, we'll all be happy." _

"_That sounds great. I can still veto your name choice if you don't pick one of the sensible names."_ Kate laughed.

Doctor Khumbchandani came in_. "Hello there. Glad to see you're having a good time."_

"_Hi, we were just brainstorming baby names."_

"_Oh that's always fun. Any good choices?"_ She motioned for Kate to lay down on the bed. She lifted up her shirt and picked up a green tube. _"This is going to feel a little bit cold."_

Kate winced once the cold liquid hit her stomach. Castle held her hands. She smiled at him to let him know everything was fine.

"_Well, we came up with a few. Along with my oldest daughter, we each are going to name a baby."_

"_The old divide and conquer strategy. Good plan." _The doctor looked at the screen. _"If you guys look at the monitor now, you can see your babies clearly. Here's one, and here is another and then you have the shy one in the back."_ She smiled at them.

"_Are they all okay? Healthy, I mean?"_

"_Yes Kate, you're taking excellent care of them. Now, do you guys want to find out the sexes now or do you wish to find out at birth?"_

"_No way, I want to know now._" Castle chimed in.

Kate laughed. "_Yes, me too."_

She pointed to the one on the front. _"This one is the biggest and it's a girl. And the two in the back are boys. I can tell the girl is going to be the boss among them."_ She joked.

"_Oh Rick! Look at them. They look so tiny. Two boys and a girl. That's perfect." _

"_This is so perfect. Now I have a set. Oh Kate, thank you so much for giving me such a gift."_ He kissed her forehead multiple times. He went over to the Doctor and hugged her too because he was way too excited. He was pacing up and down the room with excitement.

"_Ditto, Rick."_ Replied Kate.

The Doctor, cleaned up Kate's stomach. Congratulated them and walked out the door.

Rick picked Kate up and spun her around. She was pretty heavy now but he didn't care. _"You can ask me for anything you want right now, and I will do it! I love you so much Kate."_

"_I love you too. And I only want you to do two things for me_. _First put me down, and secondly go buy me food because I'm starving." _

He put her down. _"I'll buy you a whole restaurant if you want."_ Rick laughed.

AN: I tried to include everybody's baby name suggestions. You'll have to stay tuned to see which ones I liked best and therefore chose. Thank you for reading. Reviews are love.


	6. Chapter 6

AN: Another one for you guys. Enjoy, review if you want. As always, mistakes our mine and feel free to let me know what you think. Just don't be rude. Feel free to say whatever you wish, but just filter lol

Disclaimer: I do not own Castle.

The horse galloped straight to Kate's ranch. Castle was lightly holding on to Kate's midsection from behind. She noticed that he was careful not to touch her anywhere that she may deem inappropriate. She thought this was very cute of him. Kate found this very amusing. Normally men gawked at her. Not that she hadn't noticed the way he admires her assets but it seemed he almost felt bad for staring or 'touching.'

Suddenly, Kate was ripped from her thoughts when she noticed that, Royal, the horse, was getting very uneasy. She looked around to see what had caused him to act this way and noticed that there was a herd of Cattle coming towards them without anyone controlling them. This happened often and normally she could easily lead them back to her ranch and claim as her own. (That's how it worked around here. You leave your property unattended, anyone can claim them). However she wasn't used to such a huge herd coming so quickly towards her and normally she had help.

'_Castle, get off the horse and stay put and I'll handle this. Don't move. Got it"? _

"**Got it."** He didn't get it. As soon as Kate rode towards the Cattle Castle followed her.

The heard were coming too fast and the horse got even more uneasy and as Kate was trying to calm Royal down, the horse tripped. Kate was heading straight down and in that exact moment Castle caught her in midair. She landed on top of him. Her face was so close that he could feel her warm breath on her. They looked at each for a second too long. "_Woah! You can't be this close to me without buying me lunch first." He joked. _

Kate realized that she had been staring at his beautiful blue eyes for way too long and quickly got off him. _"I'm sorry. I was just….the shock from the fall…you saved my life you know…Thank you." She said earnestly. _

'_No big deal. Now you just owe me one."_ He half-joked because in fact he hoped that she would agree to a tiny little favor later on.

'_We'll discuss that after we take care of the herd"_. She looked over to where the heard was supposed to be and saw that four of her men had taken care of it.

'_Oh look at that! Looks like we can discuss it now."_ Castle hoped he didn't sound too anxious. The truth is, Kate made him nervous. A good kind of nervous.

"_I'll be glad to discuss matters with you back in my place. I need Miko to check out Royal. He might've hurt himself."_ She grabbed the horse leash and headed home. Castle gladly followed.

As they approached the ranch Kate handed Royal to Miko. Demming was standing right next to Miko and Kate could see that raging jealousy in his eyes. Not that she cared. She had made it very clear that it was 'just sex.' No reason for jealousy. She didn't belong to anybody and she never will.

'_Come on. I'll show you in."_ Kate led the way into her enormous common room. She offered Rick some wine, and sat at the table. She noticed that he couldn't stop looking around.

"_Can I help you Castle"?_

"_Um…No. It's just….You own all this"?_

"_Yes." Does that make you uncomfortable"? _

"_No, of course not. It's just very impressive."_

"_Thank you." Kate was not one to delay matters so she cut right to the chase. "So, how may I help you"?_

Castle thought about what he was going to say: **I've been asking people about you and I want to know more so I can base my next character on you**' sounded a bit creepy so he filtered his word choice. "_Well, I just want to know that you don't have to feel obligated to say yes because I saved your life and all."_ He paused to make sure she understood. He continued when she saw her nod her head in confirmation. _"So as you know I'm a writer. I write crime novels, well used to. Lately, things haven't been going well. You see I kinda, sort of killed my main character on my last book so now I need to write about a new hero or heroine and that's where you come in."_ He waited to see if everything had registered.

"_How exactly is that where I come in? You want me to help you write? I must tell you that I lack the dramatic flair that usually embodies your work. I don't think I would be much help."_ She looked at a very surprised Castle.

"_Wait…you know my work? But I thought you said….oh! This is so much better! Are you a fan Miss Beckett"?_

Kate froze. **Crap!** Why did she say that! She really needed to filter her thoughts. "_Perhaps, I've read a couple of your books Castle, but I don't see how I may be of any assistance to you really."_

"_Oh yeah. Okay, back to business. So all I need from you is permission."_

"_Permission to do what"?_

"_Well, permission to write about you. Well not you, but Nikki Heat."_

Kate was sure she understood him wrong. No way. _"Who's Nikki heat"?_

"_The character I want to base on you."_

"_You're basing a character on me?" _

"_Yes. It will be perfect. A strong, beautiful heroine. Just what I was looking for."_

"_So you want permission? Um yeah knock yourself out."_ Kate was actually laughing in her head because there was nothing heroic about her but she wouldn't bring that up to him.

'_So you'll let me shadow you!? Thank you! I promise I won't overstep or anything. I'll be quiet as a mouse. Thank you." _

OH. "_Shadow me? As in following me around? You never mentioned that! And no absolutely no. It's dangerous. What I do is dangerous and very few now about it and intend to keep it that way. I'm sorry but there's no way…"_

"_Come on, I won't bother you. Promise. I just want to know what your methods are and see you in action. That's it. I promise I'll leave if it gets to be too much for you. Please?"_ His last word almost sounded like a plea. Kate noticed how cute that was. She thought about all the possibilities. What's the worst that could happen? He did owe him her life after all and she hated owing people.

"_Okay."_ She stated simply.

"_Okay? Okay? Yeah? Thank you so much you won't regret it."_

"_I already regret it and remember Mr. Castle, it's participate and observe not participate and annoy. Got it"?_

"_Got it!"_

AN: & their partnership has begun! TA-DA! THOUGHTS?


	7. Chapter 7

AN: Thank you guys for reviewing. I'm loving the constructive criticisms. So, the italics are gone and I addressed the preemie issue in this chapter and I will again later on when she gives birth. It seemed to be important to some of the readers and I tried to incorporate it without making the story really angsty because that is not my goal. Really, thank you. Feel free to point out my mistakes because as of right now, I don't have a beta reader.

I DO NOT OWN CASTLE!

Everybody had been excited about their engagement. Ryan had congratulated Castle on his creativity and Espo just kept going on about all the things he was going to teach the kids. They helped Beckett move all her belongings to Castle's loft the following week. Kate didn't take much. She took her clothes, a few paintings and other items that were of sentimental value to her. While the boys were moving her things in, the girls were going over decorations ideas. Lanie, Alexis and Martha insisted on helping Kate decorate. They were sitting at the kitchen table talking about the room design for the triplets. Alexis decided that since she was going to name one of the boys that she was going to decorate his room too. Lanie took on the girl's room & Martha took on the other boy's room. Of course all the ideas had to be approved by Castle and Beckett.

Kate and Jenny had separated from the group and were sitting on the couch. Although, Jenny was a couple of months ahead of Kate in her pregnancy, Kate's stomach was the same size, if not bigger than Jenny's. They were discussing their experiences and how they were dealing with all the discomforts of being pregnant.

"So Kate, are there any concerns for the babies? I mean I read that it's complicated with triplets." Jenny was concerned.

Kate's expression darkened. This had been something that she only had discussed with Rick because she didn't want to worry them. But Jenny was pregnant too and she was concerned. There was no point of lying to her. "Yes. Too many. The Doctor said that we need to consider reducing to one or two fetuses because the babies often are born very premature with a lot of complications. She said I might be saving the lives of the other two by eliminating one."

"Oh sweetie, so what did you guys decide?"

"We consulted various specialists, including one who told us the odds in plain terms: The chances of having severe complications in a triplet pregnancy, he explained, are only 2 percent greater than with twins once you pass the 26-week mark. Babies born earlier than 26 weeks, almost always suffer serious handicaps, and many die…" Kate's face said it all. It showed her fear and her doubts. She continued to look at Jenny and spoke quietly. "Then again, the reduction procedure itself carries the risk, however small, of terminating the entire pregnancy. Rick and I discussed it and we made our decision. Focusing on those cold numbers, we decided that we would not reduce." She looked at Jenny to see her reaction. Jenny was scared, just like she was.

Jenny reached over to grab her hand and gave her a sympathetic look. "It will be alright. Just follow the Doctor's instruction and it will be alright." Jenny reached out and gave her a hug.

Kate thanked her and stood up to go help the ladies with the decorations. "Alright, enough of this topic today, let's go help them decorate the rooms and maybe it will take our minds away from this." She provided Jenny with a warm smile that was quickly returned.

As Kate was walking towards the table she felt a sharp pain. The pain was acute and Kate couldn't help but scream.

Castle rushed to her as the others did he same. "Kate, what's wrong?"

She winced in pain. "It hurts, Rick…ohhhhhh…Cas-tle…" She reached out to grab his arm and wrapped her arm around his neck.

Lanie came and helped Castle place Kate on the sofa, while Martha grabbed Kate's stuff and called a Taxi.

While at the Hospital, Kate was giving a shot to relieve the pain. The Doctor told her that her cervix was slowly shorting and showed would eventually of bulge. The Doctor gave her two options. 1.) She could continue her daily routine and wait for something to actually happen to her cervix and then have it sewn shut or 2.) Take a moderate bed rest throughout the pregnancy to avoid the shortening and bulging of her cervix. Option two, meant no surgery later on.

To Castle it was obvious. Option two. But Kate couldn't imagine being in bed for the majority of the day. She was only 4 months and 2 weeks pregnant. She wanted to work. Obviously not on the field, but she still liked to cooperate on the cases.

Once she was released from the hospital, Kate and Rick headed home where their difference of opinions clashed.

"Rick, listen. If my cervix does shorten and show signs of bulging then I will have it sewn and take bed rest for the rest of my pregnancy. The Doctor said that wouldn't happen until I am at least 24 weeks pregnant. I don't want to stay in bed for two extra months. When I near 24 weeks I will take it slow." Kate spoke calmly because she knew Rick was just as worried as she was.

"Kate, please…" He spoke with so much raw emotion. He was worried sick and the look he gave her said it all. "Just, leave work and stay home. I don't want you to have surgery while carrying the babies. I know we decided we wouldn't reduce but I'm so worried about them. We already know, at least one of them are going to be born underweight and I don't want your stubbornness to add to their list of complications."

"Fine Rick. I'll stay home. But I want you to inform me of all the cases. I want to know what's going on and still help, even if it's from a bed. And you have to promise to entertain me all the time. There cannot be one dull moment, you hear me." She stroked his hand in a reassuring manner. She knew he was right. But she hated the idea of being cooped up in a house with nothing to do and having someone tend to her all the time. But her babies meant more. Rick meant more. If being bored was a price she would have to pay to get three healthy babies, the so be it.

"Really? I promise there will not be one dull moment while you're on bed rest. I will do anything you ask. You want me to dress as a clown and parade around like a fool? Done. I will do anything." He kissed her in a frenzy. He was happy that he could talk some sense into her.

"I don't know about a clown, but I can think of other sexy costumes you can dress up as."

"Katherine Beckett, did you not hear what the doctor said. To keep the physical activities to a minimum." He teased but he was also being serious. If not having sex was a price to pay for healthy babies, then he was willing to pay that price and then some.

"She said minimum. I can't do a lot of physical activity but that doesn't apply to you." She spoke with her seductive voice. "You just have to do all the work."

"Oh…I see where you're getting at…" he kissed her again.

"Not now though, I'm tired. I want to go to sleep." She paused. 'And I mean actual sleep Rick." She walked towards their bedroom with Rick following.

AN: I'm sorry this took longer than usual, but I have been fangirling so much about the season finale and my FEELS got in the way of writing. I apologize.

QUESTION: Do you guys want them to get married while Kate is pregnant or after she gives birth. (She can still do it while she's pregnant even if she's on bed rest because it's moderate bed rest which means she can still walk around etc.) So let me know. Xo


	8. Chapter 8

AN: I'm really sorry for the super long wait but I had finals and I was studying for two weeks. I hope you enjoy this and review if you wish. Thank you.

Kate was tired of being cooped up in the house and not doing anything. Rick took her out whenever she wanted but she wasn't allowed to do much and it wasn't like she could do much anyway. Ryan and Esposito called often to brief her on almost every case they had but it wasn't the same. For the first time in her life she felt useless. It didn't help that Rick was so adamant on doing everything for her. He treated her like she was sick, and she fully understood why and she appreciated it, but it was beginning to annoy her. Of course the hormones didn't help much. Even though she didn't do much around the house, she was always tired and hungry and she urinated at least 10x a day which to her felt like 100. She had to constantly get up to use the bathroom at night.

Kate finally got up to do the bed. Rick entered the room with her breakfast and watched her struggle to tuck in the blanket. Her stomach didn't allow her stretch her arms freely so everything she did was a challenge. She gave a frustrated sigh and walked around to the other side to tuck in the blanket. She noticed Rick standing there looking at her.

"Do you want some help?" He placed the tray on the nightstand and approached her.

"No, I'm fine." She let out another exasperated sigh.

"Doesn't seem like it. Let me help you." He walked over to the bed and started tugging at the blanket.

Kate pulled it away from his hands. "I said I didn't need your help Rick. I've got it. Go eat breakfast." Rick could tell she was annoyed and he felt her frustration.

"Honey I know you don't usually need others to help you, but it's different now. I know you're capable of doing the bed all by yourself, but under the circumstances," He pointed to her belly. "It's harder on you. So let me help you and we could go eat breakfast together." Rick pulled on the blanket again.

"Fine Rick. Fine! You do the damn bed. Just like you cook and clean and do everything else around here. I'm just going to sit here and eat all the food that I can eat. Oh! I'm sorry, I meant to say all the food that are approved by Rick. God forbid I should eat anything unhealthy. God forbid I should do my own damn bed, Rick. I'm tired of this. I want to fend for myself. Do you know how annoying it is to sit here and do nothing? Do you how annoying it is to go to the park and just sit on the swing and do nothing?" Tears were falling down her cheeks and she felt like everything would collapse. "I just…want to do things…I…"

Rick let go of the blanket and handed it to here. "It's okay, you can do the bed." He looked at her with sympathy. He knew why she was acting this way. Half was hormones and the other half was the frustration that she felt. He knew she didn't mean to lash out at him. "Kate, I know you're frustrated and you want it to end and you want to go back to your normal self, but honey that's not possible anymore. When the babies are born, our lives are going to change. And I'm proud of you. You're heeding all the Doctor' orders and you're doing everything in your power for us to have healthy babies. I know you're frustrated, but hang in there. A couple more months and you're going to have three beautiful and healthy babies." He pulled her into an embrace and kissed her forehead.

"Three healthy babies?" She pulled away from him. The tears were falling at their own will. "You don't know that they are going to be healthy. Even if I do everything I'm supposed to do, there's a high chance that they might not be healthy and I'm mad at myself for not being able to help them…I…I just want them to be okay.." She placed her head to his chest once again. "What if…what if…" Rick ran his hand on the small of her back.

"Shhh…Kate no matter what happens, know that you did everything for them. You're doing everything to make sure they make it. So enough of this nonsense. Our babies are going to be healthy and extraordinary and that's that. No more what ifs' from you. I know you're scared. Heck, I'm scared but Kate our babies are fighters…just like you. So promise me no matter what happens you won't blame yourself."

"Rick you don't know that…"

"shhh... Positive thoughts. We're doing everything we can. The rest is up to nature or God or whomever is in charge. So no more beating yourself up over this. Let's goo eat breakfast and then we can go out somewhere. Anywhere you want." He let go of her embrace and took her hand in his.

"Okay. Positive thoughts. I'm sorry. I must be hell to live with. I promise I'm not being like this just to spite you. I don't want to be like this but I can't help myself. It just comes out and I can't control it and sometimes I just want to scream and cry and I don't know how to stop it."

"Kate, you yelled at the front door because it refused to lock last week." He gave her a smile. "Oh and remember when you yelled at Ryan and Esposito because they woke you up to brief you on a case even though you asked them to? So, no need to apologize. If yelling at me will make you feel better, then go for it. I'll be your punching bag for the next two months or so." He laughed and squeezed her hands.

Kate thought about all those times she was moody. This pregnancy was definitely bringing the worst in her and there was nothing she could do about it. She was glad Rick and the boys were so understanding. "In that case, I'll try not to punch you too hard." She turned to face him and gave him a tender kiss. "I really am sorry."

"It's okay. You're giving me the greatest gift I could ask for, so trust me when I say, you could start World War III and I would still love you."

"Trust me when I say that even when I'm yelling at you uncontrollably, I still love you."

"So, you yelling at me means that you love me?" He gave her a questioning but sweet look.

"Yes, in my own pregnant way. Now, let's go eat because I'm hungry and if I don't eat soon I just might start World War three. Not that it matters though because you would still love me anyway." She gave him a cheeky smile.

"Yes ma'am." They headed to the kitchen to eat and start their day.

AN: Thoughts?


	9. Chapter 9

3 months and a week later

Kate and Rick were putting the finishing touches to the triplet's room. Rick was placing the Spider Man frame on top of the crib that they had assigned to the first born. Kate bought over the Minnie mouse doll to the only girl crib. They both stopped to look around the room. Rick walked over to Kate and put his arm around her shoulder.

"It's done. We finally finished it." He placed a kiss on her forehead.

"I know. I just need to get this Minnie mouse on top of the bed and we're all set."

"Yes and after two weeks of arguing about baby names we finally agreed. Although I don't know why we couldn't name two of them Luke and Leia. They are perfectly suitable. I know I mentioned other choices but it really occurred to me that Luke and Leia were sensible names." He pouted.

"I know they are sensible names but if we name two of them Luke and Leia what are we going to name the third? Darth Vader? Castle I just want you to stick to the original choices."

"Fine, I'm only agreeing because you're the one carrying the babies. I'll stick with Joseph, unless he looks like a total Luke when he is born, then I'm changing my mind and there's nothing you can do about it." He smirked at her and crossed his arms across his chest.

"What exactly constitutes "being a total Luke? You mean you're expecting our baby to have a light saber birth mark when he is born? " Kate laughed at him and pinched his cheeks.

"You laugh now but you never know. Those things happen. I'm just saying, I'm allowed to change my mind when the time comes."

Fine, Rick. But if you do change your mind don't expect me to name the girl Leia. It's not going to happen so please get that through that thick skull of yours." She lighted tapped his head.

"Fine. Be that way. Dream crusher." He pouted. "By the way, what did you and Alexis decide anyway?"

"Alexis decided on Alexander. I saw that coming and so did everybody else. She said she chose it because it was your middle name but we all know she chose it because it matched her name." they both laughed. "I don't mind though because I like the name."

"I like it too. And we could call him Alex." He smiled. "Alex and Joe Castle. I like that."

"I thought the same thing. I finally decided we should name the girl Stella. I really liked Stella and Ella so since I couldn't choose I decided that if I name her Stella I could still call her Ella."

"Stella Johanna Castle. It flows. Oh! And that reminds me! We still haven't picked middle names for the boys."

"Alexis picked James for Alexander. You're the only one without a middle name."

"Joseph Luke Castle. Bam! Said the lady! Perfect! Now I can still call him Luke whenever I want."

"I knew you were going to do that!" She lightly slapped his chest.

"Oh man! Can you imagine! 'Luke, I am your father'! By the way, that's the first thing I will say to him when he is born."

"I don't doubt it. " Kate smiled at him and walked over to Stella's crib to place the Minnie mouse doll on the bed. She bent down to place the doll in the middle of the crib and she felt a sharp pain across her abdomen. She winced and straightened herself up. At first she thought it was caused by her decision to bend down so quickly but the pain continued. As she walked over to where Rick stood looking the other direction, the pain went away. She let out a loud sigh of relieve.

Rick heard her and look at her quizzically. "What are you sighing for? You sounded like you just ran a marathon." He joked.

"No, nothing. I felt this acute pain but it went away. It was probably because I bent down too quickly."

Rick walked over to her and placed a hand on her stomach and got down on his knees. "Hey babies, I know you want to get out and meet us, but until then don't give mommy a hard time. I promise when you get out we'll do all sorts of fun things but for now, hang on and be strong and wait a while longer. The longer you stay in there, the better for all of you. Behave in there cubs." He placed a kiss to her stomach and got up. "There, they'll leave you alone for a while." He smiled at her and kissed her forehead.

Kate rolled her eyes. "Oh I'm sure they'll listen to you."

"Ye of little faith! They shall listen to me, I am their father." He did a quick Darth Vader impersonation that had Kate laughing.

"Okay, if you say…." She stopped mid-sentence because the pain didn't let her form any more words. This time the pain was sharper and more acute.

"What is it Kate?" Castle's expression morphed into a worried one.

"Ohhhhhh! Rick!" She grabbed his shoulders and held so tight. "Cas-tle!"

"Kate, are you having contractions?"

"No, it can't be contractions! I'm not due! Not yet…"

"Kate, the doctor did say that they might come out much sooner than their due date because of the circumstances."

Kate looked up at Rick and smiled. "There, it stopped. Everything is fine. I'm not in labor." Kate pretended to smile. She didn't want the babies to be born yet. She needed them to hang on a little while longer.

"Kate, that's exactly how contractions work. They stop and then come back again. Let's go, I'm taking you to a hospital."

"No, Rick. Not yet. They're not ready. They're only 31 weeks along. They need to stay in here for at least two or three more weeks."

"Kate honey, I understand but let's go to the hospital and see if everything is okay. "

"Rick, I'm fine. Really…I just bent downnnnnn..oh!" She felt the pain again ad grabbed his shoulders once again.

"alright, we're going to the hospital."

AN: THOUGHTS? XO


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: Sorry for the super late update. Life got in the way. I hope you're still enjoying this story. Thanks for reading as always. Xo

Thank you to Sofia for editing this story. 3

Disclaimer: I still don't own Castle.

Kate had been rushed to the emergency room. Rick was frantically trying to calm her down as she was being wheeled down the long narrow hall.

"Kate honey, everything is going to be okay. Just hang in there."

Kate shot him a death glare and even the nurse wheeling her couldn't help but snicker.

"Don't call me honey and don't tell me what to do Castle! Do you know how much this hurts?" She let out a scream and Rick flinched.

"Actually one time I stepped on a nail and it went all the way…" Kate gave him a look and pinched his hand. "No, you're right. It wasn't as bad as this." He smiled down at her. Rick had seen shows where pregnant women hit their husbands when they were in pain and he found it hilarious, until now that is. Kate could pack a punch but he was so happy that none of it mattered. He loved that he was getting a chance to dive into it with Kate.

"Honey, you're breaking skin here..." Rick pulled away his hand and flinched.

"Good! Don't ever compare giving birth to something that stupid Castle. It's like the babies are firing missiles at my uterus." She stopped squeezing his hand and looked ahead. Castle could tell that she was overthinking again.

The nurse opened the door and stopped to talk to Castle. "This is as far as you go until we've determined the severity of her condition. If she is in fact in labor, you can go to the delivery room but most likely she'll need a C-section. Once the Doctor informs me, I will inform you."

Castle was ready to argue but Kate put her hand up and stopped him. "Do as he says and call our families to let them know what happened." She saw that he was ready to argue again. "Rick, it will be fine. I'm in good hands."

Rick kissed her forehead and looked at the nurse. "If she does need to have a C-section I want to watch through the window. In case of complications, God forbid, I want her life to be above everything else." He looked at Kate. "I love these babies but I can't lose her. So, do everything you can to keep all four of them, but if you can't, keep her alive."

"Castle…"

"No Kate. I love these babies. I do, I really do. But we can have more kids. There won't be another you and there's no way I'm losing you."

Kate squeezed his hands and motioned for him to come down so she could kiss him. "Alright. It will be fine Rick. We'll make it through."

"Okay. We need to go. You can wait in the waiting room." The nurse wheeled Kate away to be checked by the Doctor.

Rick called his mother and Alexis then Jim. Alexis ended up calling Lanie and the boys. Twenty minutes later they were all in the hospital. Rick and Lanie were pacing up and down the waiting room while Alexis, Martha and Jim went to get coffee.

Ryan stood up and put his hand on Rick's shoulders. "If you keep this up, you'll have to pay the hospital for new floors." He tried to lighten the mood.

"I'm sorry. It's just… It's been over a half an hour. Why haven't they come out with news yet? If she was fine it wouldn't take this long."

"Castle, it's taking longer because there are three babies. Don't panic. I'm sure everything is fine. She'll be alright. Plus, since when does Kate let things like this defeat her? She survived a bomb, almost drowning, nearly freezing to death and many more. You've been there; you know Kate won't stop fighting."

"I know. It's not Kate that I'm afraid of giving up. It's the babies. They are so weak at this point and Kate has never had to fight for three babies and herself all at once. So, I'm scared. I'm mortified."

Ryan hugged him because he was scared too. They were like family to him and he couldn't stand seeing them fall apart. He let go of Rick and looked over to Lanie. "I'll go get you guys some coffee. You both look tired."

Lanie stopped pacing long enough to thank Ryan. Javi took her by the arms and sat her down on the sofa. "You both need to stop pacing. You're making me nervous."

Rick looked over to Lanie and walked over to the sofa. He kept playing with his fingers and kept his head low.

"It would be nice if you guys talked. It will help the stress." Javi grabbed Lanie's hand. "No seriously, talk. Talk about anything."

"Javi, I just…there's so many things going through my brain. I am a Doctor after all. I know the chances. I know the possible outcomes and I'm beyond mortified. I know I should be calming you guys down because I am the Doctor but she's my best friend. I couldn't bare it if something happened to her."

Castle looked up and saw a very tearful Lanie. He moved closer to grab her other hand. "I wish I could say something to help. A joke maybe. But I have nothing left." He gave her a regretful look.

"It's okay. I wish I could help you. I wish I could go in there and see what they are doing or at least help them!"

"Lanie, you're an M.E." Rick gave her a small smile.

"I know, but I still know how to deliver babies. You learn a lot in Medical school." Lanie let out a smile laugh. She stopped when she saw the same nurse that took Kate in opening the door. She got up, along with Rick and Javi and rushed to the door.

Rick and Lanie spoke so fast that Javi had to stop them both and address the nurse himself.

"I'm sorry. They're anxious. What exactly is going on?"

The nurse had this somber look on his face. Like he had to tell them something unpleasant and Rick quickly read too much into it.

"What is it? Why do you look like you have just seen death?"

"Mr. Castle, please take a seat. Actually, all of you take a seat."

They all took a seat; no one was in a mood to argue. "Miss Beckett had a bit of bleeding. It was too much pressure on her uterus and her overall body. She's a small woman even though she's quite tall. It's under control for now but Dr. Khumbchandani would like to operate as soon as possible. However, the babies are not nearly as far as long as we would like, which is an obvious concern. The plan is to have a C-section and keep the babies on a ventilator until they are properly matured. But even then, there is no guarantee that all the babies will survive and the mother is in great risk too. I am aware that you have expressed that if something should happen we should save Ms. Beckett's life but she has expressed otherwise."

"What do you mean? She couldn't mean..." Rick was mortified. Kate couldn't do that to him.

"I'm afraid she did. She wants us to save all the babies even if it means that she might lose her life."

"No. No. She can't. Don't do that! Save her life even if it means losing one of the babies. Please, save her."

"I'm afraid we have to respect her wishes. But I assure you that we will do everything in our hands to save all four of them."

Rick got up and walked out the emergency room. He needed to clear his head. The possibility of Kate dying was one that has crossed his mind a lot of times due to her line of work but he refused to let her die if she didn't have to. They had to choose her over the babies. He couldn't live without her and he couldn't raise three kids without her. There was no way.

After 15 minutes of cursing his faith he walked back in to find everybody sitting down. They had all returned and heard the news. The nurse was now getting the paperwork ready for Kate to sign. He looked up at Castle and walked over to him. "Do you want to go see her?"

Very quietly he said yes. They could all tell he was defeated.

AN: Thoughts? xo


	11. Chapter 11

UPDATE!

Castle was still in shock that Kate would choose the babies over her own life, in a way that made him love her more. The fact that she would choose their lives over hers showed how selfless and loving she was. He wasn't angry with her; he was frustrated with her because she couldn't see how much this would destroy him.

Rick walked over to the room and opened the door. Kate was lying down, she looked weak. He slowly shut the door and walked over to her. He sat on the edge of the bed and gently nudged her awake. Kate woke up and gave him a weak smile.

"Hey." She slowly took his hands in hers. Castle noticed that her hands were cold.

"Are you cold?" He looked at her concerned.

She squeezed his hand with all the strength she could muster. "You know my hands have always been cold. Don't worry about it."

Castle looked at her sunken eyes. "Why do you always tell me not to worry? I know you want me to be calm and just wait for the news but I can't. I can't help it. I'm scared of losing you." He put his unoccupied hand on her stomach. "I'm scared of losing them."

She tried to get up to hug him but she fell right back on the bed. Instead, she put her hands on top of the hands that was on her stomach. "You won't lose them. I promise you that much. You won't lose them."

"So I've heard." He didn't mean to sound curt but he couldn't help it.

She looked at him knowing. "The Doctor told you," She stated.

"No, the nurse told me." He stated right back.

"I'm sorry. I should've told you myself but I just…I'm sorry. I thought if something should happen it would be better to have the children. I wouldn't be able to deal with losing one of them at this point. I've bonded with them. You've bonded with them. I know when they kick too much that it means that they are awake and probably hungry. That listening to "colors of the wind" calms them down. I know these are small things and that I haven't met them yet but I love them so much and I can't lose them. None of them. So if it comes down to it, I want them to save them over me. I know you'll be a great dad. You are a great dad. You did an incredible job with Alexis and I know you'll do a great job with them too."

Rick looked at the now teary eyed Kate. He wanted to hug her and kiss her and tell her that it was all going to work out but he couldn't because deep down he didn't know that it would all be okay. Instead he kissed the back of her hand. "I love them too. I know they like the sound of the ocean and rock music. I know they mostly kick during the afternoon. I know how much you love them, but I…I can't do it alone. I refuse to do it alone. I already did it alone once and I don't want to do it again. I barely made it with Alexis and I am terrified of doing it alone with three kids. So please, if it comes down to it, choose your own life." He was pleading now. "Tell them to choose you. Don't leave...don't leave me." He was upset with himself for falling apart when he was supposed to comfort her.

"Rick…I Can't. I love you and I want to be with you always, but we have to think about them too. I hope it doesn't come down to the wire and I hope we all make it through because I don't want to hurt you. I don't want to leave you. I want to stay with you until I turn old and grey." She was trying to be strong for both of them. "Listen, how about we do this. I'll go in there and fight like hell to keep all of us alive and you stay here and keep our families sane. It will be alright. I promise." She knew that promise had no sustenance but she made it anyway because she felt helpless at the moment.

Rick caught on at what she was trying to do and he quickly wiped away the tears. "Okay. You fight like hell and I keep them sane. But no matter what, you come back to me okay?"

"Okay. I will." He moved down to kiss her tenderly and she spoke into his mouth. "I want to see the rest of them before I go in. I know Lanie is ready to berate my ass for not calling her as soon as I was feeling pain." She smiled at him and watched him walk away to call the rest in.

Kate spent 10 minutes or so talking to the rest of them. She received a dozen well wishes and sent them on their way. She knew they weren't actually going to leave but she hoped they would eat and try to get some rest at some point. They looked exhausted. Once they all left the nurse came back and walked over to her bed and helped her get in the wheelchair.

"Are you ready?" The nurse spoke with a calm and steady voice.

"As ready as I will ever be." She placed her hands on her lap.

"No wait!" Rick walked over and planted a passionate yet loving kiss on her lips. "Go fight like hell." He smiled down at her.

"Go keep them sane and go eat something and shower. When I get out I want to have you all dressed up and clean and smelling good. You don't want to scare the babies away with that smell." She joked.

"Hey! I'll have you know that you love this smell." He teased. "This smell is what helped make these babies in the first place." He winked at her and pinched her nose.

She laughed along with him and placed a hand on his chest. "I do love your every smell. But seriously, go shower and eat Rick. I'll still be here when you come back."

"Alright, as you wish." He let go of the hand he had captured in his and opened the door for them.

He watched as she was wheeled away. He had this huge knot in his throat but he forced it down and moved towards the waiting room to go keep the family 'sane.'

AN: Thoughts? xo


	12. Chapter 12

AN: update! I really want to opologize for the angst since originally it wasn't suppose to be angsty. I had to address the issue of preemies etc so it went down the angsty road but do not fear it will be over very soon. Thank you for reading and reviewing! I read them all and I take in all your criticisms. xo

Rick kept in mind what Kate had asked of him. He walked to the waiting room and spoke words of comfort to their families. He told them that Kate wanted them to go home and not to worry, not that it mattered what he told them. They refused to leave even after Rick told them that the C-section might take longer due to the circumstances. Truth is he wanted them to get some rest so he could at least partially adhere to Kate's wishes because there was no way he was leaving. Normal C-sections took 30-40 minutes but even if he had to wait 2 hours or 48 hours to see Kate and his children he would. He was told that he was allowed in the room if he wished but he needed to make sure that his family wasn't out here panicking. He reassured them that they should at least go eat and come back. Martha finally convinced the rest to take a coffee break, while Rick walked back to the Operation Room.

He had to wait for the Doctors to get Kate situated. She was unconscious but he still wanted to hold her hand. He knew she would want him there even if she had told him to go rest. There was no way he was going to let her go through this alone even if she couldn't tell that he was there. He wanted to be the first thing she saw when she woke up and he wanted her to know that no matter what he was there. He was diving in this with her.

Right before the Doctor began the surgery they allowed him in. He took her hands and spoke to her. She couldn't hear him but he still spoke to her. It wasn't anything deep; he spoke of their first meeting and how she had always wanted him even though she denied it. He imagined her reaction to that statement and started laughing. He realized he knew her well, years of studying and loving her had proved to him that she was it. This was the woman he was going to spend the rest of his life with and the ring on her finger was proof of that. Even if the worst happened today, she would be the only woman he would love until his last breath.

He looked over to the Doctor who was concentrated on the surgery and saw a small smile dance across her lips. He wasn't sure what she was smiling about but he noticed that the surgical nurse had the same smile as well. He smiled to himself and then down at Kate. He continued to talk to her; they were stories of everything they had gone through up until now. He paused when he got to their present situation. All he could think about was the possibilities. The possibility of raising these babies without Kate. The possibility of losing one of them, or all of them. They weren't happy thoughts and he tried to think about the small chance that he would have them all without complications. He squeezed her hand and just looked at her. There was nothing else he could say but declare his love for her repeatedly. He looked over at the clock and realized that it had been about 10 minutes since they started. Just as he was telling her how he couldn't wait to take their kids to the park, he heard a sound come out of the half a dozen machines that were in the room. He heard the Doctor say "her pressure is dropping."

The nurse asked him to move aside for a moment while she stepped forward to help the Doctor. He watched as her pressure continued dropping. He wasn't sure what he was watching and what exactly was happening.

One of the main nurses that were present walked over to him.

"Mr. Castle, do not panic and stay put. This is normal, especially with triplets. The Doctor will get it under control soon." She gave him a sympathetic look and squeezed his shoulders before walking away.

Rick felt helpless. He had always been able to help Kate and now he could do nothing but watch. He noticed that the annoying beeping sound stopped. He blinked away the tears and saw the Doctor pull out one of the babies and hand him to the nurse. He heard him cry and knew that was a good sign. He let out a breath that he hadn't realized he was holding and smiled at his son. He wanted to hold him but he couldn't move. He wanted to hear them all cry because only then he would know that they had a chance. He kept looking at the Doctor anxiously to see her pull out the rest of the babies. He clapped his hands at the site of the second baby soaked in blood and crying. He had never been so happy to hear a baby's cry. He noticed that the cry was loud and that it was the girl. He waited for the third. Dr. Khumbchandani pulled out the third baby and Rick wanted to hear his cry. Everything in the room went silent; the Doctor lighted tapped the baby's foot trying to get a sound out of him. Rick took a few steps forward and just as he was about to speak he heard a faint cry come from the baby. The Doctor smiled and handed the baby to the nurse who was waiting. The nurse placed a label around his leg and brought him to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit to join the other two babies.

Rick now looked at Kate. He took her hands again. He couldn't help the tears. The babies were all alive. Although he knew that the next 24 hours were the most crucial he was glad that they had had made it through step one. He lifted her hands and kissed them. One of the nurses asked if he wanted to go stay with the babies in the NICU to which he replied with a nod. He kissed Kate's hand again and walked with the nurse.

_An hour later_

Rick knew that he should ask questions about the babies. But he was scared to find out the severity of their conditions. After all they were in the NICU for a reason. He looked over to the nurses; there was one nurse for each baby and there were so many tubes hooked up to them. They looked so fragile, he wanted to help but he didn't know how, so he just stood there watching other people do for his children what he couldn't. It was utterly frustrating; he wanted to be with Kate who had been brought up to the post-op room. He knew she wasn't awake yet but he wanted to see her and see that she was still breathing. No matter how many times the Doctor told him that it was normal for the mother to be unconscious up to five hours he wanted to make sure that she was still here.

He walked over to the nurse taking care of Stella and looked at the tiny baby and the rise of her tiny chest. He marveled at how small her hands actually were. She was the biggest of the three weighing at 3 pounds 12 ounces; Joseph weighed 3 pounds and 9 ounces. It was crazy that the Doctor considered these stable weights when they were more than half the weight of a single born baby. While Ella had minor respiratory problems she was doing great and so was Joseph.

Alexander was the real concern. He weighed 3 pounds and 3 ounces which was considered low birth weight. Rick walked over to the smaller baby and reached inside the front hole of the incubator to place his forefinger in the child's tiny hands. He looked over to the child and then to the nurse.

"Is there anything I can do to help? Anything at all?"

The nurse spoke with a soothing voice. "He's very tiny as you can see. For the next 24 hours he will remain here along with Joseph and Stella. Although I'm sure they'll leave the incubator earlier than Alex over here." She smiled down at him. "He's a fighter. He'll get through this."

"How do you know he's a fighter?" Rick asked needing reassurance.

"His mom is Kate Beckett." She stated. Plain and simple.

He nodded. He knew exactly what she meant; Kate was a fighter and so were her babies. If there was anything he was glad they inherited form their mother it was exactly that; her fighter spirit. He smiled down at the baby boy and retrieved his forefinger from his palm. With one final look he walked out of the NICU and into the room Kate was staying in.

He slowly opened the door and walked inside. He sat at the edge of the bed and simply looked at her. After a few moments of just observing her breathing he ran his hands across her cheeks and spoke.

"Kate, I know you probably can't hear me but in case you can, I just wanted to let you know that the babies are doing great. Well, Alexander is having a bit of difficulty due to his weight but he's a fighter." He stopped for a bit to see if that warranted any response from her but he received no response. He sighed and continued. "Ella looks like you and so does Joseph. Ella has your hair but she has my eyes. Joseph has both your hair and eyes; he looks a lot like you. Now Alex looks like me; everything is me. My eyes, my luxurious hair and my feet, which I know is a weird thing to notice but I thought you should know." He laughed out loud only to be greeted with a stinging silence. He looked at her face and started studying her breathing again. "The Doctor said you should be awake in a few hours. Please wake up as soon as you can. I miss you, I miss your voice and I miss your stare. I just miss you. So, wake up Kate. The babies want to meet you." He placed a piece of hair behind her ear. "You'll love them. They are precious little things. So hurry and wake up." There was still no response from her. Rick continued to stroke her hand for at least an hour before he got up to sit on the chair next to her bed where he fell asleep.

Thoughts? xo


	13. Chapter 13

AN: sorry, sorry! this took forever . Apparently my boss thinks I'm her slave. But anyway, I updated this without even sending it to my beta because it had been so long that I didn't update. So all mistakes are mine.

Disclaimer: what do you think? :D

Rick made his way to the NICU once again. He felt useless. He couldn't do anything to help Kate and he couldn't do anything to help the babies. But still he tried. He constantly asked the Doctor of ways he could always told him the best thing he could do is wait. Wait for them to respond to treatment. Wait for Kate to wake got tired of waiting and it had only been two hours. Kate was suppose to be awake by now. But she wasn't. He decorated Kate's room with flowers & everybody wrote her a gretting card. He had left Kate's room after he had spend an hour talking to her in hopes that she would respond. But she didn't.  
As he entered the NICU he asked the same question he had asked multiple times. "How can I help?" He had expected the same answer as always. "Just talk to them and keep them company." But this time, the nurse spoke different words.

"Look, Stella & Joseph are doing great. Superb actually." She smiled at the infants. Her look quickly changed as she turned to Alexander. "Alex is doing okay. But he needs a push, yaknow. He needs help. So, I was thinking you could carry him for a while. Sometimes it helps. I'm not guaranteeing that it will help him but it wouldn't hurt to try."

"What do you mean? I though it was better to leave them in the ventilator for a while." Rick replied.

"It is. His breathing is steady so taking him out won't harm him. He needs warmth. Babies need to feel connected to someone. Obviously the mother would provide that warmth but since she's unable to, I thought you could do it. It helps their heart and I wouldn't ask you if I was able to do it myself but I have to watch the others. So what do you say?"

Rick had this huge smiled on his face. "Are you kidding? I would love to. God knows how much I've wanted to help. Just tell me what to do and I'll do it."

The nurse looked at him with a smirk . "Take your shirt off."

Rick looked at her confused. "Take my shirt off? What does that have to do with carrying a baby?"

"He needs warmth. If you have your shirt on, you can't really help him much." She started laughing. "Don't worry Mr. Castle, I'll look away."

Rick felt silly. "Oh, yeah of course. I didn't mean..." The nurse cut him off.

"It's okay. I should've explained before asking you to take your shirt off." She gave him a warm smile. "I'll leave you alone with him." She walked away and left Castle staring at the tiny baby.

He removed his shirt & placed it on the small sofa behind him. "Okay little guy. Don't be frightened." He carefully lifted Alex into his arms.

"I'm gonna give you warmth so when mommy wakes up you'll be all better. You'll be strong just like mommy." He sat down on the sofa and placed the infant on his chest. He held on to his tiny fingers and softly spoke to him. "You know, mommy is basically a superhero. She's fast, strong,intelligent and a heck of a fighter. She's beautiful too. So you see, that makes you a superhero too. it makes all of you a superhero. Daddy is her partner. It's kind of like Batman and Robin. I'll explain that later. " He smiled down at him. "So you go on and absorb all this warmth so you can feel better. Mommy is going to wake up soon and I want her to see her strong baby boy." He squeezed his thumb softly.

He talked to Alex for an hour. He somehow never ran out of things to say to his son. Son. He had two sons now and two beautiful daughters. He was a father of four. That's when it hit him. He now understood why Kate chose them over her own life. He loved his kids so much that he couldn't imagine not having them around now And it only had been a few hours. But he wanted all of them. he wanted Kate and the kids. He looked up and silently spoke to God. He wasn't particularly religious but he figured that it wouldn't hurt.

"I don't normally do this but please, let me have this one. I've finally found what I've been looking for all these years. This is it. I want Kate and my babies. I want to leave this hospital with all of them healthy. So please, look out for them and help them through this. Amen." He wasn't sure if he was heard but it felt comforting to speak those words.

A few minutes later just as he was about to doze off, Dr. Khumbchandani entered the room. He immediately tensed up. He stood up and placed Alex in the ventilator. "Doctor, what's the matter? Is Kate okay?"

"Richard, I knew I could find you here. Great news! Kate woke up." She beamed.

Rick ran up to her and hugged her, almost knocking her over. "This is amazing! She's awake!"

"I'm happy for you guys. Truly. But Richard, you're crushing my bones." She smiled as he let her go.

"I'm sorry. I just... she's awake!" He placed his hand on her shoulders and shook her. "This is the greatest news. I have to call mother!" He pulled out his phone and told his mom and asked her to inform the rest.

"Can I see her?" He asked.

"Of course, she was asking for you. When you go in there, resist the urge to hug her like you just hugged me. she's a bit weaker than I right now." she laughed. The Doctor opened the door and walked to Kate's room.

"I'll be right there." He walked to the babies and reached inside to give each one of them a mini high five. "She made it! What did I tell you? Huh? Superhero. I'm going to see her but I'll be right back." With that he left the room.

AN: thoughts?


	14. Chapter 14

AN: So I just realized that I am suppose to reply coot he comments. I did not know this so I'm so sorry. From now on I will reply to the reviews. Thank you so much to all my readers. Those who review, those who just read and those who favorite and follow. I LOVE YOU ALL AND I APPRECIATE IT.

Chapter 14

Rick ran towards Kate's room. He knocked quickly and opened the door. There she was, awake and laughing. She was laughing...at him. He walked towards her with a questioning look. She was laughing harder now. He just stared at her. He leaned down to capture her mouth in a kiss but she was still laughing. With their lips still connected she put her hands on his chest and whispered.

"Castle, where is your shirt?" She ran her hands across his chest and continued laughing.  
Rick looked at her confused. He looked down at his bare chest. Uh-oh. "I...I was...Oh my God I ran around the hospital with no shirt on!" He moved his hand to cover his mouth. "I hugged Dr. Khumbchandani with no shirt on!"

Kate laughed even harder. "I'm sorry, this is pretty funny. Why in the world are you not wearing a shirt? It's not like it's hot in here." She continued laughing. "No but seriously, where is your shirt?" She playfully raised an eyebrow at him. "Should I be worried? Did you shack up with that hot nurse?" She smiled at him but he wasn't responding with a witty remark like she expected. He just kept looking at her. She could see the shadow of a tear emerging."oh no, Rick I'm joking! Come here." She lowered his head so he could place it on her chest. She finally realized that he wasn't emotional over her comments about the shirt. She knew it was because it finally hit him that she was alive and joking. "I'm here. It's okay. I'm here."

"You're here."He lifted his head and placed a kiss on her forehead and then her nose, cheeks, and practically every inch of her face. "You're here and laughing at my stupidity and I couldn't be more thrilled. For hours, all I wanted to know was if you were breathing. If I could count on moments like this. If I would ever hear your laughter, see your smile and touch your skin." He placed his head back on her chest. "All I wanted was to hear your heart beat." He felt her run her hands through his hair. "You're here and I can do all those things and I couldn't be happier."

"I'm glad you never gave up on me, Castle. If you had I would be missing out on so much beautiful and lovely things, things that I only want to experience with you." She pause for a moment, she had been avoiding this question because she was scared of the answer. "Castle, I know I'm on a hospital bed and you think I'm weak but I promise you I'm not. Yeah I'm a bit woozy from all those pain meds but I'm fine. So when I ask you this question, Do not sugar-coat it. Promise?"

"Pinky promise." He replied.

She took a deep breath and spoke with a firm tone. " How are the babies?"

Rick also took a deep breath. "Ella and Joe are doing great. They had minor complications in the first hour but they are doing "superb" as the nurse put it earlier." He took a moment to let her sit up and take his hands. She was smiling and looking right at his eyes. "And Alex? How is he doing?"

"Alex is doing okay. Of course considering the circumstances "okay" is not what we are looking for. He just started breathing on his own but the Doctor wants him to stay for a bit longer than Ella and Joe. I thought we could keep them together and bring them home together." He squeezed her hand.

"Yeah, I think that's best. I want them to experience everything together." she took a deep breath of relieve. "You know, before the surgery I prayed. Ya know, because that's what most people do before a life changing event, so I thought 'why not?' I don't know if that helped but whatever it is that has kept all of us alive, whether it be God or simply the Doctors I'm extremely thankful. I hope Alex gets better soon."

"I prayed too. I also figured 'why not?'" he squeezed her hands. "They're all going to be fine. Soon you'll see them running around the loft And breaking all the nice decorations." He laughed.

She laughed with him. No matter what they had each other and she knew she could always count on that. "So, all in all, they're champs?" She beamed at him.

" Alex and I agreed on superhero." He laughed.

"Superheroes. I like that better." She leaned in to cover his mouth with her own. "Now, I want to see them. Help me into that wheelchair."

"Whoa. Are you sure you can? We should ask the Doctor first, you just had surgery."

"I asked before you came in. She said it's fine as long as I use the wheelchair. Now get me on it. It's not fair that you get to hog all the baby time. You baby-time hog." She teased.

"I didn't hog all the time with them. You're just jealous and if you want me to get you on that wheelchair you have to be nice." He teased right back.

" Fine. Be that way. But are you really going to let your sick, and weak wife get off the bed by herself." She made a fake painful noise and looked at Rick with her best hurt expression. .

"Wife. You said wife." He beamed.

She quickly realized that she did say wife. Damn it, she was going to deny it anyway. "What? No, I said fiancée. 'Your sick and weak fiancée'. Yup that's what I said."

Rick could tell she was lying but he let it go. His chest nearly burst with happiness just at the thought of her thinking of him as a husband.

"For a detective you suck at lying. But I'm going to help you anyway because you are my fiancée." He carefully lifted her off the bed and onto the wheelchair. "I'm also going to wheel you to the NICU because I am your husband, unofficially of course, but officially soon."

He knew she was smiling even without seeing her face.

"So unofficial husband of mine, you still didn't tell me how you lost your shirt."

"Oh yes! It's quite a tale of bravery and love. So you see..." He told her the story with a few exaggerated bits here and there while he wheeled her down the hall.

Thoughts? Xo


	15. Chapter 15

AN: This is short and a long time due but for some reason inspiration did not strike. I didn't get a chance to send this over to my beta either so all mistakes are mine. Thank you for reading xo

Once Kate was inside the NICU, she wheeled herself to each of the babies and introduced herself. "Hey there, I'm mommy." She reaches in to attach her thumb to Ella and Joe's tiny hands. "I hear you guys are doing great. That makes mommy very happy."she has no idea why she is crying but she let's their hand go and wipes her face . "I'm just really happy you guys are alright." She moves to Alex and takes both his hands. "Hey there superhero. I hear you're a fighter. I like that. Keep that up so you can get out of here soon and play laser tag with dad." She smiles at him. " I can't wait to take you all home." Kate took turns carrying each of them and sang to them.

Shortly after the nurse came in and asked to allow the babies to sleep. Kate was going to protest but she stopped when the nurse mentioned that it's important that they have a steady sleeping pattern so they won't be awake all night long when they get home. The new parents left the room and headed towards Kate's room where they found their families waiting for them.

After a few of days Kate finally returned home but the babies had to stay for a while longer. They visited everyday and read to them and told them stories about how they met. They couldn't wait for the day the Doctor allowed them to bring them home. The infants stayed there for another week before they were allowed to leave. Kate and Rick woke up extremely early that day to head to the hospital.

Rick was carrying a baby bag and Kate was right behind. They had bought a kid-friendly car a few months before she had given birth.

"Castle are all the car seats in place? Did you get their blankets?" Kate named so many things that Rick had to stop her.  
"I have everything on your list. Stop worrying and get in the car." He opened the passenger door for her.

"I know it's only been a week but I miss them a lot even though I saw them everyday." she takes Rick's hand and squeezes it a bit to hard. She notices him wince in slight pain and quickly lightens her grip on him. "I'm sorry. I'm jut really excited about them coming home today."

Rick moves over to her side and kisses her quickly. "I'm excited and anxious and to be honest a bit nervous but mostly I'm excited and happy we finally get our babies." With that he turned back to his seat, pulled on his seatbelt and started driving.

Rick pulled up to the very familiar hospital and headed to the nursery where Rita always had the babies at this time. Rita was the nurse that had been with the triplets since day one.

The kids were all dressed and ready to go. Rick and Kate thanked the hospital staff and bought the kids to the car. Once they were on their car seats, Kate called Martha to let her know that they were on their way.

Once they reached the loft, Rick took two of the babies while Kate took the other and headed upstairs. Kate placed the carriage on the floor and opened the door. When she turn on the light a loud cheering was heard. Everybody was yelling "Welcome home" and they came over to hug and congratulate them.

Rick looked over to Martha. "Did you plan this?"  
"I had a lot of help." Martha smiled.  
Kate walked over to Martha and hugged her. "Thank you Martha."

The babies were passed around from person to person while they all admired the newborns. Kate, Lanie and Alexis bought them up to their room for a nap and then headed downstairs to eat. While they were eating Kate constantly looked at the baby monitor. Alexis noticed this and whispered to her. "You're going to be a great mother." The two shared a smile and continued eating.

AN: Do I reply to reviews on the comment section or do I PM you guys my reply? Clearly I'm new at this XD


	16. Chapter 16

AN: I tried to reply to the latest reviews :) thank you so much for reading. Thank you S for beta-ing and thank you for reviewing. Xo

Rick wiped the vomit from his lap and headed to his room where a tired Kate was sprawled on the bed asleep. Her shoes were still on and she didn't even bother to remove her jeans. Rick placed the baby monitor on the night stand and removed Kate's shoes and jeans. She didn't even flinch. He grabbed the baby blanket she was still holding and placed it on the nightstand. The way she was laying on the bed didn't really leave that much space for him and although he didn't want to wake her up, he had to move her somehow. He reached for one of her legs and slowly tried to roll her to the other side of the bed. While he tried to move her, one of his hands ended up on her thigh and Kate immediately responded to his cold hands. With her eyes half opened she spoke.

"Castle, not right now...I'm tired.I want to sleep. Maybe tomorrow or when the kids go to college." She patted his hand.

He let out a chuckle. "Kate, I wasn't trying to seduce you. I was trying to move you a little so I could have some space for myself."

She forced herself to fully wake up and take a look at how she was laying down. "Oh" she sat up and looked down. "Where are my pants, Castle?" She raised her eyebrows.

He wiggled his eyebrows. "You don't need pants. You look better without them." He growled.

"I thought you said you weren't trying to seduce me?"

"I wasn't. Past tense. Now I am." He jumped on the bed after removing his own jeans. He kissed her neck and heard a small moan leave her mouth.

"Cas-tlee, I .." Five seconds into it and she is already unable to form sentences. Damn him.

He was relentless. He nibbled on her right ear, he knew that drove her crazy. He had already taken off her top and she didn't even notice.

"You know, for someone who didn't want to be seduced, you are surprisingly very into this."

She captured his lips in a searing kiss and gently pushed him away. She wanted to do this, she really did, but she was tired and she knew he was too. The past three months had been amazing. They were both in awe of their kids and they loved them more than anything. She cried when she saw Ella smile for the first time. They felt immense joy when the doctor gave Alex the 'all-clear'. He smiled when Joe giggled constantly. they love it all. All those little moments. But there are times when they get overwhelmed. Although, the triplets developed a great sleeping schedule while they were in the hospital, for the past three nights Ella had trouble sleeping. They took turns calming her down and putting her to bed. At the end of it all she was tired. Tonight was her night and she needed to sleep before work in the morning. As convincing as Rick's tongue was right now, she had to stop him.

"How do you even have energy to breathe right now?" Her voice was breathy.

"Well I didn't five minutes ago, but you look so cute sprawled on our bed and making that cute noise and wiggling your nose and I just...I don't know. I guess knowing that you are the mother of my children and my soon-to-be wife gives me energy." He kissed her nose. "I can actually run a marathon right now. That's how much energy I have." He joked.

He was tired. Joe and Alex had no trouble sleeping but giving them a bath and feeding them was always a long process. He was tired, but not too tired for time with Kate.

She was touched and as tired as she was, she did want him. He looked adorable. His hair sticking up and his shirt stained with baby milk and water from the kids' bath. He was a mess but she loved when he looked like this. She rubbed both hands across his chest. "I could never resist a ruggedly handsome man." She kissed him and bit his bottom lip. "As much as I love this look on you, how about a long bath?" She took his hand, ready to leave the bed. "Actually, not a long bath. Just a long shower, in case the kids wake up." They both got up and ran towards the bathroom.

"Just a shower?" He questioned shamelessly ogling her.

"I don't know Castle, it might just be your lucky night." She smiled and walking away she removed her bra and tossed it behind her and right on his face.

_Break_

It was five past noon and she was headed to lunch. She actually wanted to go home for lunch but the case is a tough one and she probably won't even have time to kiss all three kids before she has to get back to work. Instead she takes out her phone and hits the 'FaceTime' icon. This had become a 'thing' for them. Whenever one of them couldn't make it home, they video chatted. She heard a laughter come from her screen. She placed the phone against the cup of pencils on her desk. Usually she went somewhere private but no one was around except for Javi.

Castle finally looked into the camera.

"Hey." He smiled at her.

"Hey. How are my superheroes today?"

"Oh you know, kicking daddy's behind as usual." He laughed. "How is my big superhero doing today?"

"Getting her behind kicked by this case." She smiled at him.

"Tough one huh? Do you need my help?"

"Yeah but I'm not going to bore you with the details. You can come and check it out tomorrow if Martha or Alexis or even Jenny want to babysit."

"You just want to be with me the whole day." He teased. "I'll ask mother today. Alexis has finals so I doubt she has time and Jenny, well Jenny has little Emma to take care of. Adding three more might be a bit too much." He laughed.

"True. Let me know what Martha says then. Oh and the kids have a play date with Emma this Friday. So if you come and help us out we can both go." She took a bite of her sandwich and sipped her juice. "Can I see my men of steel and my princess now?"

Rick picked them up one by one and Kate briefly talked to them. What she wouldn't give to be there with them right now. As she was talking to Joe she heard footsteps approaching her desk. She looked up to find Javi smiling at the screen.

He quickly stepped away. "Oh sorry but their laughter is contagious. I had to say hi to my champs." He said hi to Castle and the babies and looked at Kate.

"This suits you."

"What suits me?"

"Motherhood." He replied.

"Yeah?" She beamed at him.

"Yeah. You're too tired to berate Ryan and I now." He laughed. "I just love my nephews and niece. They keep mommy on check." He laughed once again.

Kate couldn't help it but smile. Ryan and Espo were like brothers to her and it filled her with joy that they thought of themselves as as the kids' uncles.

Castle was laughing on the other end. He stopped when Kate returned her attention to him. "What are you laughing about?" She scowled.

"Nothing." He was trying really hard to hide his smile."just eat your food."

"Hmmm." She raised her eyebrows and smiled at him. She could never be mad at him for too long. Not even fake being mad.

In the midst of it all something had completely slipped her mind. She was ready to hang up and resume working but she had to remind him. "Oh Rick, I almost forgot. The wedding planner called and she would like to meet with us soon. I was thinking Saturday since we already have Friday booked with Jenny. Is that okay with you?"

"Yeah, absolutely." Kate could tell he was excited. She was excited too but Rick took it to a whole different level. All this talk about a wedding and they finally chose a date. It was going to be five months from now and she wanted to make sure they had enough time for everything.

"So will we discuss this when you get home?" He asked enthusiastically.

"Of course. Right after a full body massage." She teased.

"Deal!" He replied. She was joking but she wasn't going to back down now.

"Great, I'll see you guys at home. I love you little superheroes. Mommy will be home soon." She blew them kisses. She turned her attention to Rick. "See you soon. I love you." She smiled at him.

"I love you too."

With that they both hung up. Castle went into daddy mode while Kate continued working.

AN: wedding talk in the next chapter :)


	17. Chapter 17

AN: I feel like it's been forever, which is why I posted this chapter without it being beta-ed, so forgive my mistakes. xo

Three hours later and they didn't find anything. she was impatient and as much as shopping for a wedding dress with Lanie and Alexis was, she missed her babies and wanted to go home. She already spent a lot of time apart from them because of work and she didn't want to waste anymore time doing something so trivial such as shopping. She finally put her clothes back on and walked out the changing room carrying three wedding dresses.

Lanie surveyed her expression. "So?"

She put the dresses down and noticed that Alexis was missing. "Where's mini castle?"

"I don't know. she said she had something for you and just walked out. you know how the Castles' are." Lanie shrugged.

"I'll be a Castle soon Lanie." she raised a playful eyebrow.

"Yeah, but not blood related so I can still make fun of them." she teased. "Oh and speaking of becoming a Castle. You need to choose a wedding dress Kate. It's been like ten hours and you have decline all the options. We are starting to run out of stores Kate."

"Three hours Lanie. Not ten. three." She picked up a wedding dress from the pile she sat down earlier. "Plus, look at these. Lanie I have a new body. In case you forgot I gave birth and everything is not where it's suppose to be right now. I just want a dress that will show off my assets and hide the flaws."

She took a seat next to Lanie.

Lanie had that look. Kate knew that look. it was her "girl-imma-smack-you" look. "Listen, you look great and I'm not just saying that because I'm your best friend. So get up and let's go to the boutique we saw earlier. I don't care how long it takes but we will find you a dress, Katherine Castle."

"Not quite a Castle yet but after looking at these dresses I'm sure she will be a step closer." Martha spoke while entering the small boutique they were in. Alexis following right behind.

"Martha, I didn't know you were coming." Kate gave the older woman a hug.

"Of course. I wouldn't miss this for the world. Richard wanted me to go pick up these for you." She handed her two wedding dresses.

"He what? When did he have time to do all this?" Castle had been busy. With Kate at work he had a lot on his plate with the triplets. They barely had any free time.

"Nothing can stop a man in love. Not even three little hyper superheroes." Martha teased. "Go try them on."

Kate took them and headed into the changing room. she opened the bags and looked at both wedding dresses. He remembered everything she said about how she wanted hers to be.

Simple yet elegant. Halter and with simple designs. something that hugged her curves and made her look like a modern princess. He chose not one but two perfect dresses. she didn't know how he did it but he did. This made her love him more, if that was possible.

She removed the bags and tried on both dresses for the ladies. The ladies went on a couple of rounds of voting. In the end she chose the second dress because it screamed "Mrs. Castle." The length was perfect. The simple design on the side, how it hugged her curves and hid the small stretch mark she had on the back of her left arm. That's when she realized that it didn't matter to Castle that she had this tiny stretch mark or that she hadn't lost all the baby weight. He loved her for all that she was and everything that she was not.

With the wedding dress selected the girls went for lunch and decided on the other arrangements. Everything was coming together beautifully and the girls could tell how excited Kate was. Turns out she was not afraid of the prospect of becoming "Mrs. Castle", but the headaches that came with planning a wedding and raising three children with a full time job. Now that it was all ready she could finally breathe and enjoy her two weeks of being Katherine Beckett.

~Break~

She walked into the loft and into the children's room. He had the triplets in their bassinets. They were sound sleep and it was only 6pm.

She threw her purse on the sofa and walked towards the babies.

"aww they're asleep already?" she made a tiny pout with her lips. "I wanted to give them a bath before bed."

"You can." He smiled. "You know them, they eat and sleep for a moment but they'll wake up soon."

She walked over and sat on his lap. "Thank you." She softly kiss his cheek.

"For what?"

"For being a great father to our four children. For being there for me. There's no one else I see myself doing this with. Getting married, and raising a family." She smiled. "It's funny, really. I actually can't think of any reason why I was so scared of this. It's wonderful. It's like that moment before your first kiss. At first you're scared and full of insecurities. Will you be a good kisser? Will you like it?….But after it's done, you want it all the time. you can't help yourself. All you do is think about that person…That's how it's like with you and I feel like I don't tell you enough, But I love you. Every moment with you is like that first kiss." She hugged his neck and kissed him, deeply, passionately and longingly.

They only let go when they both needed air. "Right back at you. you're not so bad yourself either. I guess I like you too." he teased.

"Shut up." she said while he kissed her nose.

"Oh, I didn't see you walk in with a wedding dress. Did you pick one?" he said hopefully.

"Yes, I did." she said grinning.

"Yeah? which one? where is it?" He started to remove her from his lap to go see the dress.

Kate pressed him down to the chair. "Hold it. The dress is not with me. I let Lanie take it so you wouldn't see. You can see it in two weeks."

He pouted. "That's not fair. At least tell me if you picked one of the two I chose for you."

"Maybe." she said grinning.

"You're evil, you know that."

"You big baby, you can't wait a couple of weeks." she pinched his cheek.

They heard Stella fuss and KatE hopped out of his lap as quick as lightning. "Oh, she's awake." She walked over to Stella's bassinet and picked her up. "Aww come here. Mommy's home. awww look how big you've gotten." She knew that was nonsense. She didn't look any bigger than she did this morning but it seemed like it.

Castle just sat there and watched. He loved seeing her like this. Talking to their children. Being a mother. He look forward to a long life with her.


	18. Chapter 18

AN: This is it. Thank you for reading. I hope you guys enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it. xo

Kate wasn't nervous. She has known the man she was about to call her husband for so long that she was just excited. Excited to officially call him 'husband'. Nothing was perfect. The flowers were delivered late and they couldn't decide if they wanted a band or a Dj until the last minute and getting everyone to the Hamptons was a little tricky but they made it work. They always made it work, in the end that's what counts.

The isle was not that long but it seemed to extend for miles as she made that first step to her dad. She thought it would be uncomfortable having so many people staring at her while she just smiled and walked, but it felt right. Everybody present was someone she either considered a friend or family. She looked around to admire the place. It was beautiful. She never made scrapbooks of what she wanted her wedding to be like but if she did, this would be it. A beachfront wedding with everybody she loved and cared for. It was intimate yet memorable.

She made it to her dad who gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. "You look beautiful Katie."

"Thanks dad." Kate could tell he was proud. Proud that she finally allowed herself to be happy with someone who loved her completely. She could also tell he was happy to hand her over to Rick who was waiting at the altar with a smile on his face. He had this goofy smile that made her heart melt.

The kids were too young to be part of the wedding but Stella was dressed in a floral pink dress with a bow on her hair. Joe and Alex were in little tuxedos. Alexis, Lanie and Jenny were holding flowers while Kevin, Javi and Michael were holding the babies. Michael was Alexis' best friend from college and while Kate wasn't really too keen on the idea of having him in the wedding, she allowed it because Alexis needed a partner. She looked at her babies who were all smiling. It took every once of control for her not to run up and kiss her babies. They looked so beautiful and she wanted to kiss them all over and grab their little chubby cheeks.

After what seemed liked an eternity, she finally made it to the altar. Jim kissed her forehead and handed her to Rick. "You two continue being extraordinary." That's all he said before he took his seat next to Martha. The preacher spoke on. The way they looked at each other said it all, they're in love. Rick barely heard when the preacher asked him to say his vows. He looked at Kate and spoke.

"This is not going to be long. I Simply love you and I'll devote the rest of my days to showing you that. I love you Kate." He slowly placed the wedding band on her finger. He moved in to kiss her but the preacher stopped him.

"Not yet Rick." He laughed. "Let Kate say something."

"You're the best thing that has happened to me. Thanks to you I have a life that I'm proud of and happy with. I love you, Rick and I look forward to continue on loving you and showing you how much. Today and Always." She placed the ring on his finger. She moved in very quickly and kissed him.

The Preacher laughed and said. "Obviously they can't wait so, I now pronounce you husband and wife. Mr. and Mrs. Richard Castle." The crowd applauded and watched as Rick lifted Kate in the air. She would usually protest but she was enjoying it too much.

They received congratulations from their friends and family and made a quick exit. They made it inside for the reception. They did it all. All the wedding clichés. The beautiful cliché things that Kate never knew she wanted so much. They took endless pictures. Danced with each of the babies. Took endless pictures with them. She danced with her husband and then her dad. She even danced with Martha and then a group dance with the girls. By the time she was ready to change out of the wedding dress she had already consumed a bit of wine and Rick took advantage. She let him twirl her around and carry her inside. They both wanted to change into more comfortable clothes and then continue celebrating. He carried her upstairs and only put her down when they reached the room.

"Have you been working out?" She teased. "You carried me all the way up here." She removed his tie.

"So you've noticed?" He jokingly flexed his right arm. He removed the pins from her up-do and let her hair fall down on her shoulders.

"You made it a point for me to notice." She smiled. She removed his tuxedo jacket. She turned around so he could unzip her dress.

He unzipped it slowly. "I'm glad you noticed." The dress fell on the floor and she stepped out of it and turned around to face him. He stared because that's all he could do.

"It's not polite to stare." she teased.

"Um…well…It is when you're my wife." And there it was. His wife. He said it. She could feel the tears coming but she stopped herself from getting carried away. If it wasn't for the people waiting for them to downstairs, she would've had her wicked way with him right there and then. He was giving her that look. He wasn't doing anything really, but that endless look of utter love melted her heart.

"Rick don't look at me like that. We have guests downstairs…. but later you can look and do other things…" She ran her hands down his chest.

"We're newlyweds, they'll understand." He removed her hair from her neck and kissed it.

She let out a tiny moan. "No…Rick not now…stop…". Damn all he did was kiss her neck and she was a puddle. She softly pushed him away and walked towards the closet and pulled out a white body-hugging dress and stepped into it.

He was still staring. "Rick, come on. You've seen me naked so many times."

"So? You're just so beautiful." He almost knocked her down when he tried to kiss her.

"Castle! We're going to honeymoon in Bora-Bora. You can't wait until then?" She was smiling now. She would never admit it but it felt amazing that he still desired her so much even after so many years of knowing her and after three kids. Kids. She missed her babies.

"Rick, I want to spent as much time as possible with the kids before we leave for a week. So as much as I love what you are doing to my ear right now, we'll have to wait." She kissed him one last time and got up. She walked over to the door. "Come on." She extended her hand.

He made a pouty face and walked over to take her hand. "You know what?"

"What?" She asked as they walked down the stairs.

"I have a whole lifetime ahead with you so I can have my way with you, whenever I want." He winked at her.

"Promise me that during that lifetime, you won't ever stop looking at me like that."

"Always." They walked hand-in-hand into the crowded room. So this is what happiness feels like.


End file.
